Adjacent Words

hunker definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: sit on one's heels; "In some cultures, the women give birth while squatting"; "The children hunkered down to protect themselves from the sandstorm" [syn: squat, crouch, scrunch, scrunch up, hunker, hunker down]

Merriam Webster's

intransitive verb (hunkered; hunkering) Etymology: probably akin to Middle Dutch hucken, huken to squat, Middle Low German h?ken to squat, peddle, Old Norse h?ka to squat Date: 1720 1. crouch, squat — usually used with down 2. to settle in or dig in for a sustained period — used with down <hunker down for a good long wait — New Yorker>

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Hunker Hun"ker, n. Originally, a nickname for a member of the conservative section of the Democratic party in New York; hence, one opposed to progress in general; a fogy. [Political Cant, U.S.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(hunkers, hunkering, hunkered) • hunker down 1. If you hunker down, you bend your knees so that you are in a low position, balancing on your feet. (AM) Betty hunkered down on the floor... He ended up hunkering down beside her. = squat PHRASAL VERB: V P on n, V P beside n 2. If you say that someone hunkers down, you mean that they are trying to avoid doing things that will make them noticed or put them in danger. (AM) Their strategy for the moment is to hunker down and let the fuss die down. = lie low PHRASAL VERB: V P